F1 teams planning joint launch in January

It has been revealed that all Formula 1 teams, in a meeting of all team principals, have agreed to launch their 2010 cars in one large event, in Valencia. This will be in late January, to coincide with the first F1 testing of 2010 a few days later, again in Valencia.

Mercedes Benz GP CEO nick Fry said: “I don’t want to go into too much detail about what the plans actually are, but we have agreed between all the teams to do a joint launch and we do wish to turn it into a proper event.”

“We are getting a lot of help from the venue and investment in communication and marketing to do that. I think I am going from here to a meeting this afternoon to discuss the subject.

“I wouldn’t wish to spill the beans on what we are going to do, but it is going to be hugely innovative. It is going to be a clear demonstration of how we are going to be working together. We are not all going off and doing our own individual launches, so we can do something that is a lot more customer friendly.”

The team boss of Lotus, Tony Fernandes, said that it may be too early for their car to be ready. However, if this is the case, Fernandes and Lotus may still attend, even if it means bringing “matchbox car”.